Hello From the Other Side
by Unstoppable Cyborg
Summary: Five years after they defeated Hawk Moth, Ladybug and Chat Noir meet for the first time without the masks. They were prepared for anything but this. Rated T for death.


**Disclaimer: I do not own** ** _Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir_** **.**

 **So guess who recently discovered Adele's "Hello", thought it fit ML so well, and decided to write a fic based off of it (with a title based off of it as well) while listening to the song for like a thousand times?  
**

 **This takes place post-redemption arc for Chloé, btw.**

* * *

"You ready?" Alya asked her best friend. For the first time in five years, Ladybug would be saying something. It wasn't that Marinette had gone mute or anything, but rather had lost her powers. Once Hawk Moth had been defeated, she and Chat Noir had had a precious five minutes to make a choice: reveal their identity or never see them again.

Ladybug chose to continue to be anonymous to everyone but Alya. And so for the first time in so long, the Ladyblog was active in some way other than just speculations upon where the heroes of Paris had run off to.

Marinette nodded, licking her lips. "Hey there, kitty. It's me. Your Lady." _I don't deserve to be called that._ "Anyways, the tenth anniversary of us being partners is coming up in two months, and..." She took a deep breath before exhaling. "And I want to apologize, and if you hate me for leaving you, then I want to properly say goodbye. Properly end things because I didn't last time. Now, I completely understand if there are more important things in your life, or if there are things you simply can't avoid that day. I understand if you don't want to see me." _I understand if you've ran out of all nine lives._ "But if you do want to see me and can make it, then please meet where we last saw each other."

He'd know where that was, and hopefully no one else would.

Marinette nodded a second time, and Alya stopped the audio-recording. In seconds, it was out there for the world to hear.

* * *

Adrien bit his lip as he listened to the twenty-five second voice recording on the Ladyblog. On one hand, he was overjoyed to hear that one of his closest friends, his first love, his partner wanted to get back in touch, and yet...

And yet it also brought back so much anger. So much grief. To be honest, he had wondered if another person with the power to control the akuma would surface and infect him because that was how bad it had been. His father was gone, Plagg was gone, and Ladybug was gone. Alya and Nino had been crucial to his recovery even though they didn't know. Chloé had known, and they supported each other like they always did: her helping him get over his loss, him helping her to get used to a lack of a right arm. Marinette had also helped him, but at first even looking at her had been painful. She was his princess, and he was no longer her faithful knight.

* * *

 _"Miraculous Cleansing Light!" Ladybug had yelled, but nothing had happened. Before she could try to find out what happened, beeping filled her ears. Oh. Right._

 _"My Lady," Chat pleaded._

 _She flashed him a smile. It was sad because without knowing it, she had always known this would happen. "No, Chat." She jumped away for one last time. He would have chased after her if it weren't for wanting to go check on Hawk Moth. Something he had said... he had to be sure, and desperately hoped that he was wrong._

* * *

"Mari, I have a date with Chloé in five minutes so this had better be good," Alya said while applying her eyeliner.

"Oh, uh, well..." said the fashion-designer said from the phone. Thank goodness it was on speaker, because without it the reporter would have poked her eye out with the eyeliner.

"Girl, you haven't been this stuttery since we were 15 and you could barely speak to Adrien. So what's up?"

"It's about Chat Noir."

"Oh?"

"What if he thinks I'm in love with him when I go to meet him in two weeks?"

"Are you?"

"What?"

"Are you in love with him?"

"I... I don't know. If it weren't for my dearest, then there's a huge possibility of that." _In a world without_ him _, would I have revealed myself to Chat?_

"Then tell him that you're meeting him as a friend. However, only bring it up if he flirts with you because for all we know he's dating someone else. And if it gets too bad, then tell him about how you have a boyfriend. Worst comes to worst, call me and I'll help you kill the cat. I doubt it'll get to that, though."

"Thank you. You're the _best_."

"Of course I am. Now, I have a date with my girlfriend in two minutes so..."

"Okay, okay! Have fun!"

* * *

"Have you thought of what you're going to say when you go to meet Ladybug next week?" Chloé asked her friend. When he didn't say anything, she began to press. "Look, that girl is one of your closest friends." _A better friend than I was, anyway._

"Key word being _was_ ," Adrien said to her.

"And you haven't completely gotten over her."

"Yes I have."

"If you had gotten over her, you wouldn't be avoiding the question. At least officially break up with the girl, tell her you have a girlfriend now. She'll probably understand."

"Her understanding that I'm not interested in a romantic relationship anymore isn't the thing."

"What? Are you afraid that she won't like you without the mask?"

"I'm afraid she'll hate me for who my father was!" Chloé bit her lip as she realized that he was holding back tears. When he was like this, not wanting to talk... well, then he'd bottle it up, keep it in, and fake a smile. Just like he had been taught to by the man he still called Père.

 _Ladybug being Paris's hero be damned. If meeting with her sends my Adrikins back into a relapse of that fragile mental state he was in right after she left him or worse, I_ will _hurt her._

* * *

Being back in this place sent shivers up Marinette's spine. The last time she had been here, she had been wearing a red jumpsuit with black spots, and it was certainly darker without the light of a thousand fluttering akumas. It was a good thing that she had brought her phone as a flashlight, then. She heard footsteps behind her, and she cautiously turned around. Hopefully the Notre Dame hadn't upped the security.

"Chat?" she called, both hopeful and keeping hope under wraps. After leaving him like that, she'd be lucky if he chose to show up. And she wasn't lucky anymore.

"Ladybug," came the reply. It was his voice, but it was older and more serious. Sadder and angrier. Part of her hurt that he didn't call her his Lady, but she supposed that it made sense. It wasn't like she fit that role anymore, anyone. Besides, it already hurt slightly when her boyfriend called her "princess" just like Chat Noir used to. This would just hurt even more.

Being here sent chills throughout Adrien's body, and he wasn't quite sure if sobs would soon follow. The last time he was here, he had lost so much: his Lady, Plagg, and his parents. But here he was to regain one of the things he had lost.

Carefully she turned around, and both of them recoiled from the sight of their significant other of four years standing in front of them. Both were speechless for several moments, trying to find the words to say as their rehearsed speeches had just crumbled to dust.

 _What are you doing here? Oh, yeah, you're here because I asked you to come._

 _What are you doing here? Wait, you asked me to come so never mind._

 _Why didn't you tell me? Oh wait, I never told you so we're even._

"Do you hate me?" Marinette asked softly, being the first to break out of her stupefied nature.

"No, I don't hate you," Adrien replied. The anger was still in his voice but it was clearly less.

"But you're mad at me," she said, stepping towards him. He walked towards her; they enveloped each other in their arms.

"I'm mad at the world, Princess."

"I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"It's okay. You didn't want to tell me, and I respected that. Although, at the moment," he said, swallowing. Then, more softly, "Now you're going to hate me."

"No I'm not."

"Don't be so purr." The hug that was a lifeline also kept her from flicking him for that cat pun. "In those last moments that we had our masks, well, I nearly went aftpurr you. I think that, deep down, we both knew that the kwami were going to leave us."

"Yet another reason fur you to hate me. I left you, deep down knowing I'd never see you again." That was when she realized the pun she made, and if she wasn't so focused on hugging him she would of smacked her forehead. And maybe him as well. "Oh, come on, now you've got me doing it," she whispered against his chest.

"Hey, it's part of my charm. And like I said, I don't hate you. It's just, well, Hawk Moth was my Père, and I've been bitter about Ladybug and Chat Noir for killing him." He hugged her tighter as his throat closed up due to unshod tears. She squeezed him back in return, and weaved her fingers through his hair like she was petting a cat.

"Oh, Adrien, I'm so sorry," she said, still stroking his hair. There was something in her voice that made him loosen his grip on her.

"You knew," he accused gently.

"I _suspected_ ," she corrected. "I saw the news reports, same as everyone else. We were pretty sure that it was just the three of us in there, so I began to suspect. Just like I had begun to suspect that my knight in shining leather-"

"Boyfriend material," he cut in, earning a roll of the eyes.

"Still calling your suit that? Okay, okay, I'm only saying this because we're together - are we still together?"

"Yeah, I think we are."

"Good. Anyways, I had begun to suspect that my knight in shining _boyfriend material_ was the green-eyed model I had had a crush on for years. But what could I have said? Hey, Adrien, I'm sorry about my partner and I killing your dad, but it was for the best because he was a total lowlife who was terrorizing Paris with an army of butterflies that would turn people into supervillains? That wouldn't have flown at all. No, I wanted you to be able to remember him as... well... not being a villain."

A ruefully amused smile came to Adrien's lips even as tears finally managed to escape his eyes and fall into her hair. "Yeah, he was kind of an asshat, even without the whole 'I'm going to steal two kid's magic jewelry and I don't care who I have to hurt to do so!' thing."

* * *

 _One of the toes on Chat Noir's ring flashed away, but he ignored at as he looked at Hawk Moth's dead body. It was dead, right? Never before had either of them had checked to make sure. None of them had ever killed a person before. Were heroes everything everyone thought they were, or were they just glorified killers?_

 _A quick check of the pulse confirmed Hawk Moth as alive, but it was slow. Weakly, the man opened his eyes. Maybe he was startled, maybe he knew this was going to happen._

 _"Adrien?" The aforementioned boy's eyes widened as Hawk Moth's transformation and life were cut short. He screamed when he saw who had been beneath that helmet._

 _"Père?" he said once he could scream no longer. "_ _Père, no, you can't be! You couldn't have been!" He closed his father's eyes, beginning to accept who he had been. Accept who he had been but not what "I'm so sorry,_ _Père, I didn't mean to. I didn't know it was you. Please, I'll do anything," he said as he cradled the man's dead body. "Please don't leave me! I'll be good! I'll be the perfect son! Just," he cried, his voice falling to a whisper. "Just don't leave me like Mama did."  
_

 _Rapid beeping of the last part of the paw print managed to prompt him to plant the first and last kiss on his father's forehead ever since he had lost his other parent, although it was all too possible that it had been even longer. He then released the corpse and ran away from who he had become. He ran to a house that was even emptier than before.  
_

 _The next day he was surprisingly calm when he received the news. The ring he had worn for the past five years was missing from his finger._

* * *

"But, anyway, do you hate me?" Adrien asked as he shook off the memory.

"I'm as much to blame as you are, kitty. Also, what your dad did isn't what you did. This probably doesn't help, but we fought _against_ him." _Let's not count that time you got brainwashed by Dark Cupid._

"Perhaps _hate_ is too strong a word. Are you disappointed that Chat Noir was just me?"

"What? No!" She brushed her lips against his chin before continuing. "Chat Noir was one of my best friends. I'd have given my life for him if he had let me instead of jumping in front of _every freaking attack_. I'd definitely say the same about you."

They were both silent as he pressed his lips against her forehead, although he quickly switched to right next to her left eyelid. "So why did you want to meet up?"

"Like I said before, I missed you and... and I wanted to apologize for leaving you like that." She gave a sad, pitiful chuckle. "To be honest, I was a bit worried that you'd think I was finally returning your feelings for you and, I quote, 'marry you, live in a nice apurrtment ofurlooking the Seine, and adopt a million kittens'."

"Aww, you remembered. Yeah, I was worried that I'd have to turn you down because I was dating, well, you, and aftepurr you finally came 'round. I guess we're still lucky, huh?"

"You could say we are. So are we still on for Monday at six, kitty?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, my Lady."

Things were good. They were finally healing. Alya and Chloé didn't need to kill anyone.


End file.
